Process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum or other processes, typically include one or more process controllers and input/output (I/O) devices communicatively coupled to at least one host or operator workstation and to one or more field devices via analog, digital or combined analog/digital buses. The field devices, which may be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches and transmitters (e.g., temperature, pressure and flow rate sensors), perform functions within the process such as opening or closing valves and measuring process parameters. The process controllers receive signals indicative of process measurements made by the field devices and/or other information pertaining to the field devices, use this information to implement a control routine, and then generate control signals that are sent over the buses or other communication lines to the field devices to control the operation of the process. In this manner, the process controllers may execute and coordinate control strategies using the field devices via the busses and/or other communication links communicatively coupling the field devices.
Information from the field devices and the controllers may be made available to one or more applications (i.e., software routines, programs, etc.) executed by the operator workstation (e.g., a processor-based system) to enable an operator to perform desired functions with respect to the process, such as viewing the current state of the process, evaluating the process, modifying the operation of the process, etc. Many process control systems also include one or more application stations. Typically, these application stations are implemented using a personal computer, a workstation, a server, or the like that is communicatively coupled to the controllers, operator workstations, and other systems within the process control system via a local area network (LAN). Each application station may execute one or more software applications that perform campaign management functions, maintenance management functions, virtual control functions, diagnostic functions, real-time monitoring functions, safety-related functions, configuration functions, etc. within the process control system.
Software processes executed by operator workstations, application stations, controllers, and other processor systems communicatively coupled to a network often require accessing information or data in other data sources such as, for example, network entities provided by third parties (e.g., field devices, servers, databases, programmable logic controllers, analyzers, lab systems, business systems, enterprise historians, back-end databases using SQL servers or the like, etc.). However, network entities often do not use the same communication interface standard, protocol, or data access functions. Thus, any time an engineer or user develops a software process (e.g., a process control routine) requiring data access to multiple, different data sources, the engineer must develop a customized data source access interface for each data source to which the engineer would like to enable data access. Thus, the engineer must be highly trained or highly knowledgeable in the communication interface standards and protocols associated with the various data sources to create each customized data source access interface.